American Postal Workers Union (APWU)

On January 21, Cynthia Collins, former secretary-treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 12, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia to one count of embezzlement from the Athens, Ga. union. She had been indicted last July for embezzling $23,345 and then concealing the thefts in union financial reports. The actions follow an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On January 13, Salvatore Mauro, former president of American Postal Workers Union Local 1236, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina with one count of creating a false financial report. He pleaded guilty the following day. The indictment and plea follow a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On January 12, Pamela Nessen, former president of American Postal Workers Union Local 286, turned herself into police in the wake of her indictment in November by a federal grand jury that she had embezzled $58,598 from the Fort Wayne, Ind. union. Nessen, now 58, headed the APWU local during November 2009-November 2013, and had been living in Jensen Beach, Fla. when the indictment came down. She pleaded not guilty the next day. The actions follow a U.S. Labor Department investigation.

On November 4, Susan Haugen, former treasurer of the South Dakota chapter of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), was charged in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota with three counts of embezzling $36,309 in funds from the Huron, S.D.-based union. According to the grand jury indictment, Haugen, now 55, during May 2010-March 2014 made about $25,000 in unauthorized cash withdrawals and spent another $11,000 with the union credit and debit cards, all for personal expenses. The charges follow a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On August 4, Eric Barnett, former president of American Postal Workers Union Local 171, was sentenced in the Circuit Court of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, to four years of probation for embezzling funds from the Portsmouth union. He also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,212. Barnett had pleaded guilty in May after being indicted last November. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On July 8, Cynthia Collins, former secretary-treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 12, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia with embezzling funds from the Athens, Ga.-based union in the amount of $23,345 and concealing the thefts in union financial records. The indictment follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On January 23, David Westgard, former treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 65, was sentenced in the Dakota County, Minnesota District Court to 20 days in prison followed by two years of supervised release for embezzling funds from the Mendota Heights, Minn. union. He also was ordered to pay $4,241 in restitution on top of the $22,719 he already had paid. Westgard had pleaded guilty last November after being charged a year earlier. The actions follow an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On November 7, Eric Barnett, former president of American Postal Workers Union Local 171, was indicted in the Circuit Court for the City of Portsmouth on one count of embezzling funds of $200 or more from the Portsmouth, Va. union. The indictment follows a joint probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Portsmouth Police Department.

On November 14, Neil Cardoso, former president of American Postal Workers Union Local 1241, was sentenced in the New York State Court for New York County to one to three years in prison for theft from the Long Island City (Queens), N.Y. union. He also was ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution. Cardoso had been indicted and arrested in February 2012 for grand larceny in connection with his unauthorized use of the union ATM for withdrawals totaling about $75,000; he pleaded guilty this October. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On November 12, David Westgard, former treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 65, pleaded guilty in Dakota County, Minnesota District Court, to one count of theft in an amount of more than $5,000 from the Mendota Heights, Minn.-based union. He had been charged in November 2012. The actions follow an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.